Bruce Schneier: John Mueller and his students analyze the 33 cases of attempted [EDITED TO ADD: Islamic extremist] terrorism in the U.S. since 9/11. So few of them are actually real, and so many of them were created or otherwise facilitated by law enforcement. The death toll of all these is fourteen: thirteen at Ft. Hood and one in Little Rock. I think it’s fair to add to this the 2002 incident at Los Angeles Airport where a lone gunman killed two people at the El Al ticket counter, so that’s sixteen deaths in the U.S. to terrorism in the past ten years. Given the credible estimate that we’ve spent $1 trillion on anti-terrorism security (this does not include our many foreign wars), that’s $62.5 billion per life [EDITED: lost]. Is there any other risk…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for September 2011.
Free Hilton Diamond Status and Delta Lounge Access for Most Airline Elites (Willing to Make a Virtual Move to Australia)
Virgin Velocity is offering a status match for residents of Australia. Anyone with an Australian address and elite status in a program other than their partners Air New Zealand, Delta, Etihad, Singapore, and Virgin Atlantic, can be matched up to the equivalent tier in the Virgin Velocity program — including their top Platinum tier. To be eligible for the Promotion the applicant must be or become a Velocity member and send to statusmatch@velocityrewards.com.au their valid Velocity membership number along with a legible copy of their frequent flyer membership card (or most recent monthly statement) that clearly shows their current elite status level and expiry date. Virgin Velocity’s elite benefits are interesting, Gold members get Gold status with Hilton and Platinum members get Diamond status with Hilton. Apparently the status lasts six months and extends to…
Pretty Bad Changes Coming to British Airways Executive Club
Lucky lets loose the dogs of war over impending changes to the British Airways Executive Club which are coming in November, dubbing them a “huge devaluation.” I meant to write about this last night but was still digging around for more facts, and truth is we don’t know very much yet about what changes they’re planning to make, but since I’ve been predicting a significant devaluation since May I guess you can count me in the camp of those who think the changes are going to be pretty darned bad. The Milepoint discussion of what’s going on is here. But basically all we know is that they’re renaming their miles “Avios points.” I almost typed out ‘Avis’ and of course I’m going to have to train my spell checker (not that I use it often,…
